Pretty much the same down here in 'rural' Oxfordshire - virtually nobody wearing masks unless they're forced to (on buses for example). Tuesday is market day here and more or less consists of people in their 50's and 60's selling stuff to people in their 70's and 80's. All in the high or very high risk category but when I went past the market last week the number of people wearing masks was - none. Not one single person. Be interesting to see if that changes when masks in shops becomes compulsory - do market stalls count as shops? My local barber (I really need a haircut!) was wearing one when I went to check out the queue in the shop, but covering his chin only.

I've been building (rebuilding really) a bike for the last 9 months for a travel project that in the innocent pre Covid days of last autumn was meant to start on 1st August - 10 days time. The effect of the virus has been to knock that on the head but its effect on some of the businesses I've had to use during the rebuild has been quite striking - some have been swamped with work from people on furlough while some others have been kicking their heels. Three months to get a rebore done vs vapour blasting 'while you wait' for example. Still others have just packed up. Just as well the 1st Aug departure date has been binned as the bike is still in bits but I've rescheduled a shorter trip (to the French HU event) in mid Sept. Whether that goes ahead is anyone's guess.

That must be wild. I can almost smell the adrenaline!

Care to share the details of the bike and the destination?

My Central European jaunt is still on track for now. Fingers-crossed....

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Oh yes, it's certainly (g)rave culture on a Tuesday morning round here!
I tend to stay well away from the market - the out of control mobility scooter drivers are far more dangerous than the roads.


The bike is an old 250 Yamaha two stroke - just like this one in fact:



That picture was taken in Morocco in 1970 and what I wanted to do was redo that trip on the same (model) bike 50yrs later and write a book about how things have moved on - or not, whether 50yrs has given me any more insight into how the world works, that kind of thing. I made a start on the book last year but the virus has affected every aspect of the original idea to the point where even if the bike was running and it was possible to actually ride the route, it wouldn't be the same. So far just about the only thing that seems to be directly comparable seems to be the length of my hair. Then it was out of hippy ideals choice, now it's because all the barbers are shut. So the trip, like everything else, is postponed to next year.

Part one of the book in its work in progress form:



A year back I did work through a 'risk assessment' of what could possibly go wrong with this idea. A global plague decimating, if not populations, certainly economies, and closing down borders that had taken the last 50yrs to open was not even on the long list. I think nuclear war came higher up.

We're only half way through 2020...

Either way, great idea, albeit mad! I hope to get to read a copy once written!

(And keep the hair! It'll give the Tuesday market crowd something to grumble about)

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

With regard to the sentiment of "Fear Of Missing Out" - ie, that a trip in 2022 or later will be somehow worse - I'm actually now a bit relieved that my big intercontinental trip is going to probably be 2023 if all goes well, because as an American I feel like it's gonna be a few years before I'm properly welcome internationally again. Gives me more time to save and farkle up in the meantime!

My bike, a CRF250L, will do up to 85 surprisingly handily with me weighing in at 174 lbs/79 kg. It's the one I'm hoping to do major USA overland trips like the TAT with, as well as internationally.

It's a shame that to feel that way. Can't comment on how valid a concern it is, but it's a shame that one doesn't feel welcome somewhere.

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

One thing I've noticed on long trips, including international, is that once you get going, it doesn't matter a whole lot what motorcycle you are riding. Don't sweat your motorcycle choice too much. Focus on your "places to see & experience". Study a new language. Those are the important things.

Are you traveling to ride your motorcycle around the world, or are you traveling to experience the people of the world?

So long as you can confidently ride it where you want to go, it's not too heavy, you can pick it up with confidence, it's reliable, and it can get repaired locally. Remember, there will be slimy, muddy, steep detours somewhere - you will "want to go" there in order to get past the obstacle. You want to be free to get off the main road to meet and experience where the locals live. That may result in unintended challenges, what later are retold as adventures. You may terminally rip a tire or blow a shock absorber and need to figure out what to do. Don't let your moto choice limit those decisions. Often those decisions are a highlight of the trip. Often the unintended challenges include extensive interaction with the local population.

It's freeing to travel on a simple and inexpensive moto - in many ways.